ZOMBIE UNIVERSITY II

CHAPTER 5

THE BULLET HIT SOLOMON hard and he went down. The pain was worse then he'd ever felt before.

When Fifi went over to see if he was still alive, he lay there, dead. Satisfied, she put her gun away then headed to the door.

"Don't mess with Fifi." Then she left, with the zombie hovering after her.

Solomon didn't know if it was safe to move. When he was certain they were gone, he let out his breath, then took a big one in.

"Ohhh, it hurts!" he said.

Then he heard crackling sounds near him. He slowly opened his eyes.

"It's all right, let me help you!" said a young male student, probably first year.

Solomon sat up, with difficulty. "Are you sure? Because she thought I was a full-blown zombie. I admit I had vaccine treatment. My friend, Lisa, even she doesn't know how it works, and she is entering medical school next year."

"It's okay." The young guy had scissors and was cutting around Solomon's shirt to take a look at the wound. "You must be the one who put all those notices up about a vaccine."

"Yep. Ouch!" he cried out, as the guy prodded the wound, looking for the bullet.

"Sorry! But look at that. She was so close to you. Good news!"

Solomon did a fake laugh. "Ha ha."

The guy patted him on the knee. "I mean, the bullet went straight through the shoulder, and out the back."

Solomon winced as he pulled a small first aid kit from his jacket pocket.

"Okay."

"I'm Spence, by the way. And really, it's good news. The bullet didn't hit a major artery. I'll just sterilize the wound and put a bandage on it."

"I'm Solomon," he replied, but also wincing.

"Good to meet you. I'm really curious about this vaccine solution you have. There, done!" He applied some medical tape and the wound was tied up. "Sorry about your shirt, but your health is more important."

Solomon let go of his winced up face, now that the pain had abated. "It's fine. If my dorm room still stands, I have thirty more there."

"Were you headed to the biology lab to see what your friend is up to?" asked Spence.

Solomon nodded. "You got it. I put up all the signs, then went to the cafeteria for some food and to use the facilities."

"Super. Let's finish up here, then we'll go and meet up with your friend."

Solomon smiled, grateful. "Are you going to medical school next year too?"

He nodded. "I want to specialize in viruses though. Maybe join Doctors Without Borders for a year or two. Just imagine all the experience I'll gain!" He looked proud.

Solomon smiled. "You'll get as much experience as staying here, apparently."

Spence nodded. "Yep. Let's hope this isn't too serious." He looked up and a sad expression came over his face. There were dozens of dead bodies in the courtyard, from where the living students had fought the zombies. And in the distance were the smoking remains of the women's dormitory building.

"So, what now?" asked Spence.

"I need to get to the biology lab to meet up with my friends, Lisa and Eduardo. They are probably already there and waiting for me." He glanced at his watch.

"Good choice!" said Spence a little too enthusiastically.

This made Solomon frown. Why was this guy so cheerful? Lisa often joked around but it was more to lighten the situation, not in a crazy way like this guy. And could he be trusted?

"Okay, let's go." Solomon figured that the guy probably wanted to ransack the supplies in the bio lab. Grab some first aid kits, medication, and other junk. He shrugged mentally in his mind. Not his concern. His concern was to get to his friends and help Lisa to find a successful way to vaccinate the living students.

"Hey, why are there people milling around here?" asked Spence.

"Oh, that's because of the signs I put up," he explained.

"Hey, do you know where we are to meet? The sign just said laboratory building," said one guy there.

"Follow me if you want to live." Solomon beckoned the living to follow him.

Spence and the unnamed young man looked at each other.

Solomon was a bit uneasy. He put up all these signs, but there were only five young male students. Was everyone really dead?

Once inside the building, Solomon took a step towards the direction of the biology laboratory where Lisa would be waiting.

But instead, Spence and one of the other guys grabbed his arm.

"This way," said Spence, leading the way.

"Hey, what's going on?" asked Solomon, worried. "The lab is that way, not down to the basement where you're leading me."

"Relax," said Spence.

"If you're zombies, I'm not edible. I'm immune."

Spence laughed. "No, me and my team are human. Relax, we will be reuniting you with your two friends."

Solomon didn't like the sound of that. Inside his mind he mentally berated himself for trusting this dude. He should have known better and kept his mouth shut. He should have thought up a fake reason, and led Spence and his gang away from the biology lab.

"Are my friends already there?" he asked.

"You'll see," said Spence with a wide grin on his face.

Solomon became really worried. Maybe this jerk thought that he and his three friends were zombies? But they weren't on the zombies' side. He wanted to help find a vaccine, or even a cure. He was on the humans' side.

"Hey, dudes, I'm on your side," he started explaining.

Spence shoved him hard down the stairs. He stumbled to keep from falling. "Relax," he said. "We want to stop the zombie plague as much as you. Me and my two friends hold hope. You can get the vaccine too, and be immune to these biters."

"But we're having so much fun," said Spence. "Maybe we don't want the zombies to go."